Boys hoops | Alexander, Curie stop St. Rita

January 29, 2013|By Steve Reaven, Special to the Tribune

(David Banks/for the Chicago Tribune)

Although it can be argued that basketball has become more guard-oriented, Curie's 67-61 nonconference road victory Tuesday night against St. Rita proved there's still no replacement for a dominant big man.

The Condors' man in the middle, 6-foot-9 junior Cliff Alexander, proved worthy of his lofty national reputation by heavily affecting the game on both ends after being bottled up early. He finished with 17 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks.

"It was very frustrating; I just played through it and kept my composure," Alexander said of his slow start. "Coach (Mike Oliver) just told me to 'keep playing, keep playing'.

Even when the No. 12 Condors (15-6) had trouble feeding him down low, Alexander created offense with several putbacks. And several Mustang possessions resulted in kickouts after the decision was made to not test Alexander.

The most decisive stretch came during the fourth quarter, when No. 17 St. Rita (13-6) went almost five minutes without scoring. That drought corresponded with a 10-0 Curie run that turned a 54-53 deficit into a 63-54 advantage with 1 minute, 39 seconds left.

Guard Marcellis Davis' four 3-pointers helped open up the lane for Alexander, and his defense on Mustangs' wing Victor Law in the second half proved pivotal. Davis volunteered to switch onto Law at the half after the junior lit up Curie for 13 second-quarter points.

"I knew I had to be a leader and step up and stop him," Davis said. "We all feed off Cliff, but everyone on this team knows his role."

The Condors also cashed in at the foul line, converting 18 of 22 attempts, two days after missing 12 of 20 tries in a last-second loss to York.